Zurich Int’l Life names Vivek as new COO

Zurich International Life has announced the appointment of Reena Vivek as chief operations officer.

Based in Dubai but overseeing the Isle of Man, Middle East, Hong Kong and Singapore operations, Vivek will be responsible for operations, IT and business change across all Zurich International Life (ZIL) businesses and will report to Clive Baker, chief executive at Zurich International Life, the Swiss insurance giant has announced in a statement.

She will also continue to support Walter Jopp, chief executive, Zurich Insurance Company for Middle East related activities.

In an exclusive chat from her Dubai headquarters with International Investment yesterday Vivek outlined some of her proposals for change in her new role. Among these will be a focus on educating both customers and intermediaries with some initiatives being spearheaded by the firm, particularly in the United Arab Emirates region.

“We believe in focusing on the customer and their needs rather than the product, so we do a lot of work with our intermediaries to help them understand the needs of the customer,” said Vivek.

‘Social responsibility’

“As a key insurance player we have a social responsibility to let people know about the importance of insurance. You need to identify the problem and then look at the solutions later.

“People start out looking at what is mandatory such as motor insurance and now medical insurance in the region is becoming mandatory as well. Then it comes to life insurance and this is where the education is needed,” she said.

Previously Vivek has spearheaded customer service in the Middle East including Zurich’s quotation & application sales app. She has also worked on Zurich’s service initiatives and has worked in locations such as the Middle East, UK, India, France, Kuwait and the Czech Republic during her 19 years of experience in insurance, wealth management and retail banking.